


What Was I Meant to Do

by Blue2Red



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Angst and Humor, Anne needs a hug, Chaos Ensues, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:00:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26536189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue2Red/pseuds/Blue2Red
Summary: When left home alone Anne finds herself in the middle of a chaotic situation.
Relationships: Anne Boleyn/Catherine Parr
Comments: 8
Kudos: 53





	What Was I Meant to Do

**Author's Note:**

> This was a work in progress for two months and after a few days of staying up to 5am I finally finished it. Enjoy

Anne had no clue how she had gotten herself into this mess. Sure, she had found herself in a lot of weird situations but this one really took the cake. One minute she had been relaxing on the couch reading and the next a pigeon flew through the open window. The room descended into chaos leaving a shocked Anne Boleyn in its wake. The pigeon had crashed into the frame that held a picture of the Queens after their first performance. The six of them were lined up on stage, smiles wide and arms raised high. It was one of their favourite pictures, the first of them all together. It reminded them of everything they had worked so hard for and how far they had come. Now it lay on the floor surrounded by shards of glass. How would she explain this to the Queens? 

The bird had stopped its rampage after leaving a pigeon sized dint in the thin wall separating the living room and the hall. It now rested on the back of Aragon’s armchair. As funny as Aragon’s reaction to the bird taking nest on her chair would be Anne feared she wouldn’t live long enough to appreciate it. The pigeon didn’t seem eager to move from its perch instead it looked around the room curiously with its beady little eyes. She had to get it out before the Queens got back. 

She had finally convinced them that she could be in the house alone for an hour without destroying the place. Jane had been reluctant to trust her after what happened last time she was left home alone. So she might have put beans in the microwave and forgot to take them out of their tin and the microwave may have exploded causing a small fire. It wasn’t that bad. She had managed to put the fire out without too much damage to the kitchen; the only things that were completely ruined were the charred curtains and the blown-up microwave. The cupboards above the microwave had some scorch marks but it was nothing a little paint couldn’t fix. 

Panic flooded Anne as she glanced at the clock. The Queens would be on their way home from the shops soon. If the pigeon was still here when they got back, she would never be trusted again. Her eyes searched desperately for anything that could help but came up empty. Then it came to her, she could lure the bird out with bread. The only problem was to get the bread she would have to go to the kitchen, which happened to be right beside where Aragon’s armchair sat. She had no choice; it was her only option. She was directly across from the entrance, if she stuck to the wall and moved very slowly she just might get past the bird without alerting it. 

She could practically hear the spy music playing and had to resist the urge to sing the mission impossible theme as she crept along the walls inching closer to the kitchen. The bird wasn’t paying attention to her. Its gaze was caught on a shiny trophy they had won that sat on a shelf beside the TV. She kept her footsteps soft as she neared the pigeon. Everything was going fine until she heard a crunch from under her foot. She cursed herself as she glanced down realising she had stepped on a stray piece of glass that had been flung across the room in the chaos. The pigeons head snapped around to her and she froze, holding her breath in the hopes that it would glance over her, it eyed her warily waiting for her to make a move. They stared each other down, both unwilling to be the first to act. She couldn’t believe she was having a staring contest with a bird and that she was losing. If Cleves found out Anne would never hear the end of it. The pigeon didn’t look like it was going to forget about her anytime soon so she sucked it up and decided it was now or never. 

She gulped in a breath, keeping her eyes on the pigeon, before quietly counting down from three and bolting across the room. As she speeded into the kitchen, she dove behind the counter out of the bird’s sight in case it tried to follow her. She waited a minute and when she didn’t hear any rustling feathers she lifted herself up to peer over the counter. It hadn’t moved. It was still stood on the back of the chair. Only now Anne could see a white stain trailing down the fabric beneath where it rested. That was it she was dead, not even Cathy would be able to hold Aragon back. Her last moments were going to be spent with this godforsaken pigeon. She had always hoped she would die hand in hand with her dear Cathy after living a long and fulfilling life. That dream was thrown out the window when she heard the slam of a car door outside the house. The Queens were back. She was doomed. 

The front door opened and she heard a pair of footsteps heading in her direction. 

“Wow, the house is still standing, that’s a surprise” Aragon’s voice carried down the hall “Anne might actually be able to take care of herself for once” 

Anne scowled, she no longer felt guilty for scaring the pigeon. Aragon deserved to spend all day cleaning bird crap off her chair. 

“C’mon Ari she made one mistake lay off her a bit,” Cathy said. 

Anne grinned at least she knew her girlfriend would always have her back. Not that it would help when the Queens saw the mess but it made her feel better knowing she had someone on her side. Anne lifted herself off the ground, cautiously checking that the pigeon was still where it had landed, before heading towards the Queens. As she got closer her nerves started to build. 

This wasn’t going to go well, the Queens already thought she was a screw-up, this would just prove them right. She hated being the one who caused trouble, most of the time she didn’t mean for it to happen, she just always found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Anne had often felt like a disappointment, she caused a lot of trouble and got on the Queen's nerves. She had tried to hide her feelings from Cathy, brushing off the worried looks whenever she let her mask slip, but one day when everything had just gotten too much Cathy had walked into her room and found her curled in a ball sobbing. She had immediately rushed over to comfort her and when Anne had stopped crying, she didn’t force her to tell her anything, letting Anne tell her in her own time, Anne appreciated that. 

Sometimes when being alone was just too much she would walk into her girlfriend’s room and slip into bed beside her, normally this happened after midnight when the house was just too quiet and her thoughts overwhelmed her, Cathy was usually awake reading when Anne entered her room. She always put her book down giving her full focus to her girlfriend and assured Anne that she could always come to her no matter the time. Cathy would never push her to talk about what was on her mind instead just held her until she felt better. No matter how mad the queens got at her Cathy was always there to make her feel better. She had listened to Anne's worries and never judged her only ever supporting her. Cathy had tried to convince her that no one thought she was a nuisance but she couldn’t believe her. She had seen the disappointed looks from the Queens every time she messed up. They trusted her less than Kat who was the youngest. 

It weighed on her, like a rock settled at the pit of her stomach, always reminding her how much of a mess she was. It was hard for her to constantly keep up a happy appearance in front of the Queens. She only let the facade drop when she was alone or with Cathy. She had spent countless nights curled around the smaller queen choking on tears letting everything out. How she was a horrible friend, a disappointment. How she didn’t deserve to have friends like the queens and how Cathy deserved much better than her. Cathy had immediately stopped that train of thought telling Anne just how much she loved her, how she couldn’t live without her, and that the queens felt the same. Cathy had made it her mission to show Anne how wrong she was, she would list the things she loved about the taller queen, reassured her when the thoughts came back, and defended her no matter what. 

Cathy had wanted her to talk to the Queens about these worries but Anne refused and make Cathy promise to never let the Queens know, she didn’t want to cause them any more trouble than usual. She couldn’t let the Queens see how bad she actually felt, she was supposed to be the hyperactive gremlin who wasn’t bothered by anything just like her character in the show, at the very least she could play her role. So, she put up her mask floating through the day trying desperately to ignore the shame biting at the back of her mind. 

“She nearly burned the house down Cathy; there are still scorch marks on the wall!” 

She readied herself for the anger to come, pushing away the urge to run, before rounding the corner coming face to face with only two of the Queens. “Ok so we may have a problem but you have to promise not to get mad” 

That probably wasn’t the best way to approach the topic judging by Aragon’s pinched expression. 

Aragon groaned hard, her hands coming up to rub her brow. “I knew it was too good to be true, Anne what did you do?” 

Before she could answer Jane and Kat walked in, their hands loaded with bags of food. 

Jane struggled to keep her bags from dragging on the ground. “Can we have a little help here?” 

Cleves came in behind her, hands also full of bags, though she didn’t seem to be struggling as much as the others. A house of six people all with varying food preferences made for a big shopping trip. Cathy as well as Aragon took some bags off the straining Queens while Anne stood back, fidgeting with the charm connected to her choker, trying to look as innocent as she could manage. 

“Anne, you look nervous is something wrong?” Jane said she looked worried which only doubled Anne’s guilt. 

“Yeah, Anne is there?” Aragon said in an accusing tone. 

“Yeah so about that....” She knew she would have to tell them eventually but that didn’t make it any easier. 

“Please tell me the kitchen isn’t on fire again, I can only handle one fire a month” Jane sighed, just the idea of cleaning making her exhausted. 

“It wasn’t my fault I had no control over it I swear, I tried to fix it before you came back but I couldn’t” Her head hung low as the shame crept back up infiltrating her thoughts. 

A pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind and a head landed on her shoulder. Anne relaxed into the touch. At least Cathy understood her. Her girlfriend took her hand squeezing it lightly sensing the trouble in her mind. 

“Just promise you won’t get mad” Her voice was faint as she leaned her head against Cathy’s, her soft curls tickling Anne’s cheek. 

“Love, just tell us what happened I’m sure it can’t be that bad” Cathy’s voice was gentle as though if she spoke too loud she would scare Anne away. 

She took a breath before rushing through the explanation, her words barely understandable “A pigeon may or may not have flown in the window and wrecked the sitting room” 

“A What!” Jane’s voice pierced her ears. 

Anne flinched at Jane’s exclamation; the older queen rarely ever raised her voice. She was definitely in trouble. Cathy’s arms went stiff around her waist as the other Queens looked at her incredulously. Kat’s mouth was opening and closing like a fish trying to comprehend what had just been said, even Cleves looked surprised. Cleves was by no means a saint she had gotten herself into her fair share of sticky situations but none were as baffling as this. Jane had gone pale and Aragon held onto her shoulders, whether that was to stop Jane from falling or to support herself Anne was unsure. She lowered her gaze to the floor hiding from any disappointment in the Queen's eyes. 

Her eyes burned with unshed tears as a lump formed in her throat. It would always be the same, fuck up Anne fucking up again, why did they even keep her around she just caused them trouble. She couldn’t hold it in anymore her walls broke down and the waterfall of emotions flooded out. She gasped in a breath as her eyes flooded with tears. She feebly tried to push herself away from Cathy but the arms holding her just drew her closer. She turned to bury her head in Cathy’s shoulder. Her tears soaked Cathy’s shirt as she choked out countless apologies through ragged breaths. She could feel Cathy’s hand rubbing circles on her back; she focused on the sensation as she tried to get her emotions back under control. 

They stayed in that position until her tears ran dry; she registered voices behind her but didn’t bother to listen to what they were saying. The voices died down and the hand that was resting on her back moved to her cheek gently tilting her face up. She was met with the concerned gaze of Cathy as she leaned her forehead on Anne’s holding her face softly in her hands. Anne squeezed her eyes shut wanting nothing else more than to disappear. The embarrassment of breaking in front of her friends just made her heart heavier. 

“Annie?” a low voice pulled her out of her thoughts, Cathy waited until Anne's eyes met hers before she continued “I promise none of us are mad okay? You did nothing wrong it's okay” 

Her voice wavered. “But I did it again I made another mess like always, I don’t know why you all put up with me, I’m just a fuck up” 

She couldn’t help but blame herself for that glassy look in Cathy’s eyes. Before she could apologise again a voice from behind interrupted. 

“Oh, Anne sweetheart we don’t think that” Jane’s voice was thick with worry as she approached the younger girl placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

“Yeah, Annie you know we love you no matter what” Kat piped up before joining Jane, one arm wrapping around her cousin's waist and the other wiping a stray tear that slowly made its way down Anne's cheek. 

“You may be a dumb-ass Bo, but you’re our dumb-ass” Cleves joined in on what had turned into a group hug, the only one left was Aragon who was stood to the side with her arms crossed in front of her. 

Anne managed a small smile her fears dissipating as she revelled in the warmth of the Queen's hug.“Thanks, I know I cause you all a lot of trouble” 

“You wouldn’t be Anne if you didn’t... we wouldn’t want you any other way” Such a simple sentiment and yet it meant the world to Anne, her and Aragon didn’t always get along but they cared for each other a lot. Warmth bloomed in her heart as she turned to Aragon breaking out of the huddle they had formed. 

“Aw Ari you care!” She rushed over to Aragon wrapping her arms around the queen before she could even think of escaping. She surprised Anne when she returned the embrace momentarily before wriggling out of her grasp. She smiled warmly at Anne before turning her attention to the problem at hand. 

“Okay now that Anne knows we still love her even with all her dumbassery, how are we going to get rid of this bird?” 

Anne rubbed her eyes with her sleeve leaving marks of mascara on her shirt, her mood had brightened drastically. “Before you all got back I was going to grab the bread and throw it out the window and hope it flew out after it” 

Aragon thought about it for a moment before replying. “It’s not the worst idea you’ve ever had, I guess it’s worth a try, can you grab the bread?” 

Anne nodded before jogging towards the kitchen slowing her pace as she reached the entrance. She felt a lot better, the Queens loved her and that’s all that mattered, she probably should have taken Cathy’s advice and talked to them but her fears had always stopped her. She knew the doubts would come back to taunt her again but now she could go to the rest of the Queens for support instead of locking it all away. 

She pushed the door open slowly to avoid any noise that would alert the pigeon to her presence. She stuck her head through the opening trying to see if she could spot the bird. Sure enough, it was still perched on Aragon’s chair though now its head was tilted down as it rested. She tiptoed across the wood praying she wouldn’t be noticed. She managed to make it to the counter that the half-empty loaf rested on. She reached out taking the packet as quietly as she could, the paper rustled in her grip, every twitch of her fingers made another quiet crinkle. She had almost made it back to the hall when she clutched the bag a bit too hard causing a loud noise that she knew the bird had definitely heard. 

She turned just in time to see a blur of grey feathers flying at her. A scream erupted from her throat as panic flooded her and she just barely managed to duck out of the way of the hostile bird. While the bird was turning for another attack she bolted towards the door diving though and slamming it shut behind her. Her breath was ragged; she braced her back against the door for support as her legs turned to jelly. The shock of almost having her eye impaled on a bird’s beak sapped all the energy out of her and she let herself slide to the floor gasping in relief. The queens must have heard the commotion because they all raced around the corner, Cathy taking the lead, to see what had happened. 

“What was that? Why did you scream? Are you okay!?” Cathy dropped to the floor at her side looking her up and down assessing her for any damage. Her form relaxed when she found no injuries on her girlfriend. 

“It attacked me! Flew right at my head! If I hadn’t had dodged in time I would be missing an eye right now! Oh, that bird is getting roasted for dinner” Her panic turned to rage. 

“Death by bird, that’s one for the gravestone” Cleves joked drawing a glare from Anne and a disapproving look from Jane. 

“Okay let’s all calm down there will be no dead birds for dinner... well actually we are having chicken for dinner but never mind that. Did you get it?” said Jane. 

Anne held up the bread she had kept safe through the attack “It nearly cost me my life getting this you better have a good plan” 

They put their heads together to figure out the best way to go about evicting the bird. In the end, they decided one of them would have to be the bait to lure the bird out of the kitchen it now inhabited. Everyone turned to stare at Anne. She was confused as to why they were all looking at her until it dawned on her. 

“No way! I’m not going to go back in there and giving it another chance to attack me I barely made it out alive the last time” 

Aragon rolled her eyes at the exaggeration “Stop being so dramatic it’s only a pigeon how dangerous can it be” 

“You haven’t seen it! That bird has a taste for blood, if you think it’s so harmless then why don’t you go be bait. Unless your chicken” she jeered. 

Aragon’s eyebrow twitched and her gaze darkened. She hoped the Aragon’s competitiveness would work in her favour so she could get herself out of this. She would already be having nightmares about the pigeon she didn’t need to add more fuel to the fire. 

As expected, Aragon rose to the challenge “Oh I'll do it then we’ll see who’s chicken” 

Anne hid her smile in her sleeve. Of course, it had worked Aragon had too much pride. 

“Okay, then I guess Ari’s going to be the distraction now all we need is someone to lure it out with the bread” Jane glanced inside the bag she had taken off Anne” we have about four slices of bread left, that should be enough, any volunteers?” 

No one came forward. They were all hesitant after Anne’s attack. 

“C’mon it’s literally just throwing bread at a window” still no one spoke up “Fine I guess rock, paper, scissors it is” 

They all groaned in unison as everyone but Aragon put their hands forward. They went three rounds with Kat being the loser, Anne walked up to her younger cousin and placed a hand on her shoulder. 

“Good luck Kat hopefully we’ll see you on the other side” she spoke to her as if she had been sentenced to death. 

Kat's eyes widened slightly in fear. Anne’s statement had caused her nerves to shoot up. 

Cathy stood at Anne’s side shaking her head “She’s not going to war Anne” She turned to reassure Kat “You’ll be fine, ignore Anne she’s just being dramatic, we’ll be right here if you need us” 

“Hey what about me I’m the one being bird bait” Aragon exclaimed. 

“You can handle yourself and if you can’t then we’ll just have to replace you” all the Queens, bare Aragon who just scowled, laughed at Cleves jab. 

“Very funny, well let’s just get this over with” Aragon took her position at the door, her hand gripping the handle. 

Kat took the bread from Jane, who smiled at her encouragingly and took her place beside Aragon. They entered through the sitting room so they wouldn’t be surprise attacked by the bird. The other Queens stayed a few feet behind, entering the room in case they needed support. Jane gasped at the state of the sitting room; Cleves shushed her before she got them caught. They stuck to the walls so they wouldn’t be dragged into the crossfire. Aragon approached the entrance to the kitchen slowly, trying to not alert the pigeon until she was ready, while Kat placed herself over near the window carefully stepping around the glass scattered on the floor. She dropped ripped up pieces of bread on her way and finally a full slice of bread on the windowsill, keeping one slice at the ready so she could get the bird's attention when Aragon lured it out. 

“You ready?” Aragon called over her shoulder keeping her eyes on the bird resting on their new microwave. 

Kat just hummed in response. Anne grabbed Cathy’s hand as Aragon banged on the wall next to her grabbing the pigeon’s attention. Aragon turned and sprinted as the bird came rocketing out of the kitchen towards her. She managed to dodge out of the way as the bird flew at her head. The pigeon nearly slammed into the wall but managed to stop itself before impact. 

“Throw me that piece of bread” Aragon yelled. 

Kat threw the bread and Aragon caught it without taking her eyes off the bird. Impressed at Aragon’s skill Anne let out a quiet “Wow”. Aragon held up the bread waving it around trying to get the bird's attention off her. The pigeon turned it head in time with her swings solely focused on the slice. She turned her back to the window so she could keep walking without taking her eyes off the bird. When she started moving backward the bird flew down from the bookcase and landed on the floor. It slowly waddled toward Aragon picking up pieces of bread in its beak. Anne and the others calmed down seeing their plan was working and nobody had been hurt. Kat had carefully made her way over to the rest of the Queens while Aragon was leading the bird out. 

“You did well Kat” Cleves patted her on the shoulder 

“Yeah I won’t be doing that again it was terrifying” Kat laughed in relief. 

“And none of you believed me when I said it was dangerous,” said Anne. 

The bird was now sitting on the windowsill with two slices of bread and Aragon smugly stood beside it. The bird but it didn’t seem interested in anything except its food so Anne decided it was safe to go over. 

“Now who’s the chicken “Aragon joked elbowing Anne once she got within range. 

“Yeah yeah I take it back you’re the best bird bait that’s ever existed” 

“You know it looks quite friendly now that it’s fed” Kat adored the bird pecking at the bread. 

She reached to the floor to pick up a stray piece she had dropped and extended her hand towards the bird. It looked at her then back to the bread before capturing the bread in its beak and swallowing it. 

Kat squealed in delight. “Did you see that? It was so cute” 

The queens just looked at her in wonder, animals had always taken a liking to her they never thought that would extend to pigeons though. 

“I guess birds do like Kats” Anne threw her hands out in finger guns and the Queens groaned. 

“That was bad even for you Bo” Kat frowned at her cousin. 

Anne recoiled as if she had been stabbed in the heart placing her hands to her chest. “Wow, I’ve been betrayed by my own kin how will I ever recover?” 

“Oh get over yourself babe I don’t think you’ve ever made a good joke in your life” Cathy quipped. 

Anne gasped theatrically “First my cousin now my girlfriend the treachery goes on and on” 

Cathy laughed at her dramatics placing a kiss on her cheek. Anne's face turned scarlet, no matter how many times Cathy did that it always made her flustered. Anne turned to return the favour but caught Cathy’s lips instead. The kiss was soft and slow, it only lasted a few seconds but it was enough for them, Cathy had always felt like home for Anne even before they had started dating. They broke apart to see the bird flying away, half a slice of bread dangling from its beak. Jane closed the window ensuring it couldn’t get back in. 

Jane looked around the room surveying the damage, she grimaced at the large dint in the wall. “I guess it’s not too bad. Though we will need to get the wall repaired” 

Kat looked disappointed as the bird was locked out. “I didn’t even get to name him” she pouted. 

“Wait a minute, you wanted to name the bird that destroyed our sitting room?” Cleves said in confusion. 

“Of course, all animals deserve names” Kat stated as if it were obvious “He could have been Stan the pigeon” 

“Well let’s just hope for Stan’s sake he never comes back here; it looks like Ari’s found the present he left her,” Anne said backing away from a fuming Aragon. 

Aragon’s face glowed bright red as she roared “Did it shit on my armchair! I’m going to fry that bird!”


End file.
